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Mar 23, 2007

"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be." --Samuel Johnson

The Blind Mechanic & His Apprentice

Larry Woody shares his automotive know-how twice a week with his apprentice, though he's never seen the young man nor spoken directly to him. Woody is blind. His apprentice is deaf. Woody lost his sight five years ago in a near-fatal accident. With more than 30 years of fixing, racing and restoring cars, Woody vowed to return to work. With help from his wife, Della, and the Oregon Commission for the Blind, he achieved that goal in less than a year. Woody recently bought his own shop, and hired a helper, Otto Shima, 17. An interpreter accompanies Shima, who was born deaf, on his visits to the shop. In Shima's words, Woody inspires him because "he never gives up." Says the auto mechanic, "You know they always say everything happens for a reason ... in so many ways I believe that."